Overview:The main pelagic stocks in the NEAFC Regulatory Area are exploited by large trawlers-purse seiners from all the Contracting Parties of NEAFC. The fleets move with the season between the three main stocks and the waters under national jurisdiction and the Regulatory Area. The Coastal States have agreed management plans for the three stocks as well as harvest control rules. There have been problems in assessments for two of the stocks.In blue whiting there seems to be a regime change with recruitment at a much higher level in recent years. Scientific views on data and stock separation have changed in recent years. Allocations for the NEAFC Regulatory Area are adopted by NEAFC only after (and if) there is Coastal State agreement regarding allocation amongst the Coastal States.

The main pelagic stocks in the NEAFC Regulatory Area are exploited by large trawlers-purse seiners from all the Contracting Parties of NEAFC. The fleets move with the season between the three main stocks and the waters under national jurisdiction and the Regulatory Area.

Seasonality

All year round.

Ecosystem Assessment

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF FISHERIES

The four main fisheries in the Regulatory Area - pelagic fishery for redfish, Norwegian spring spawning (Atlanto-Scandian) herring, mackerel and blue whiting - are unique with respect to their impact on ecosystems.These pelagic fisheries are pursued with pelagic trawls or purse seines that do not affect demersal habitats. They are - for all practical purposes - clean fisheries, where target species account for close to 100 % of the catches. They are pursued by large vessels, run by companies under market conditions. Three of them are assessed as being fished at precautionary, sustainable levels of fishing mortality.

If the fisheries are managed according to the precautionary approach, the risk of over fishing is low – with a correspondingly low risk of irreversible or slowly reversible effects on ecosystems. This applies in most cases both to target and non-target species.

These large pelagic stocks play an important role by transporting energy from plankton into fish assemblages in other areas and in deep waters.

At NEAFC’s Annual Meeting in 2008 ICES noted that spawning stock biomass in all the three large pelagic stocks, Norwegian spring spawning (Atlanto-Scandian) herring, blue whiting and mackerel, are all in good shape, above precautionary levels, but there was concern of the low level of recruitment for blue whiting recently, which would drive the stock down if TACs were not significantly reduced.

RECOMMENDATION BY THE NORTH-EAST ATLANTIC FISHERIES COMMISSION IN ACCORDANCE WITH ARTICLE 5 OF THE CONVENTION ON FUTURE MULTILATERAL COOPERATION IN NORTH-EAST ATLANTIC FISHERIES AT ITS ANNUAL MEETING IN NOVEMBER 2008 ON CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT MEASURES FOR THE NORWEGIAN SPRING-SPAWNING (ATLANTO-SCANDIAN) HERRING IN THE NEAFC REGULATORY AREA IN 2009

The Contracting Parties recommend the following measures:

1. NEAFC takes note of the Agreed Record of Conclusions of Fisheries Consultations on the Management of the Norwegian Spring-Spawning (Atlanto-Scandian) Herring in the Northeast Atlantic for 2009 between the European Community, the Faroe Islands, Iceland, Norway and the Russian Federation signed in London on 13 November 2008.

2. NEAFC further notes that by way of the said Agreed Record, the aforementioned Parties agreed on a total allowable catch (TAC) for the Norwegian Spring-Spawning (Atlanto-Scandian) Herring of 1,643,000 tonnes in 2009.

3. In accordance with Article 5 of the Convention on Future Multilateral Cooperation in North-East Atlantic Fisheries, the Contracting Parties recommend the following measures for the Norwegian Spring-Spawning (Atlanto-Scandian) Herring in 2009:

All fisheries conducted in waters of the Convention Area as defined in Article 1(1) of the Convention, which lie beyond the waters under the fisheries jurisdiction of Contracting Parties (the Regulatory Area) shall be within the TAC referred to in paragraph 2,

The national quotas referred to in Annex I of the said Agreed Record may be fished in the Regulatory Area,

Catches taken by a Contracting Party in the Regulatory Area in accordance with the said Agreed Record shall be deducted from the respective quotas allocated to the Contracting Parties representing a Party to the said Agreed Record.

4. Only vessels entitled to fly the flag of a NEAFC Contracting Party, having been authorised by its flag State to fish for Norwegian Spring-Spawning (Atlanto-Scandian) Herring in the NEAFC Convention Area in accordance with the said Agreed Record, may take part in the fishery

“Recommendation by the North East Atlantic Fisheries Commission in accordance with Article 5 of the convention on future multilateral cooperation in North-East Atlantic fisheries at its annual meeting in November 2008 to adopt conservation and management measures for deep-sea species in the NEAFC regulatory area in 2009.”North East Atlantic Fisheries Commission . 2009-01-01http://www.neafc.org/system/files/%252Fhome/neafc/drupal2_files/rec7_protection_of_dss2009.pdf